MILLSTONE – Construction has begun on a building in Millstone Township that will have all four of its apartments designated as affordable housing.
The construction of the building will help the township comply with a state mandated obligation to provide opportunities for the development of affordable housing.
A groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction on the Millstone House Apartments was held on May 16. Millstone Township has partnered with the Affordable Housing Alliance (AHA), Neptune, a nonprofit corporation that works with municipalities in several counties to assist with affordable housing compliance.
Affordable housing is defined as housing that is sold or rented at below market rates to individuals and families whose income meets certain guidelines.
The four-unit, two-story building is being constructed on a 3.4-acre lot on Burnt Tavern Road. The building will contain two two-bedroom apartments, one one-bedroom apartment and one three-bedroom apartment. All four apartments will be designated as affordable housing and will be available to individuals of all ages who earn less than 60 percent of the area median, according to the AHA.
The design of the building was provided by architect David Feldman of Feldman AIA.
The building received approval from the Planning Board in 2017. According to township officials, the Burnt Tavern Road property is owned by Millstone and is reserved for and permitted to be used for affordable housing.
After the Planning Board granted final site plan approval, the Township Committee authorized a 50-year lease with the AHA for the building’s construction.
“Millstone has proactively supported affordable housing that makes sense for this town and will continue to do so,” Mayor Gary Dorfman said. “This will also broaden options in the community, making it better for everyone.”
“I have been on the Affordable Housing Committee since 2004 and Millstone has always been a model to the state because we have pursued our affordable housing obligation,” Deputy Mayor Nancy Grbelja said. “This is just another step in fulfilling our obligation to provide affordable housing for everyone. [The groundbreaking] is another good day in Millstone’s history.”
The AHA has facilitated the development of 44 credited housing options in partnership with Millstone, according to the corporation, and this is the fourth collaboration between the AHA and the township in the past five years.
According to the AHA, the alliance received funding for the project from the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) through the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and the project is the first groundbreaking with the use of housing trust funds in the state. The capital funding and rental assistance provided under the NHTF will allow the AHA to rent the units to individuals who have special needs and to partner with 180 Turning Lives Around to provide services for residents as necessary.
“Millstone has been very favorable to working with us for affordable housing and fortunately, there has been some funding available under the housing trust funds,” AHA CEO Donna Blaze said. “[This] allows us to do some smaller-scale projects which are more appropriate in communities that are rural and suburban, and it eliminates the need to have a huge market share [of market rate housing] in order to support these affordable housing projects.
“These types of funds are very valuable to us and they are very valuable to the municipalities that are trying to meet their affordable housing obligations,” Blaze said. “There is a large number of units the towns have to develop over the course of the next several years and these kinds of funds make all the difference in the world.”
The AHA received construction financing and permanent financing for the project through TD Bank and a $100,000 capital grant from the TD Bank Foundation.
“TD Bank is very happy to be helping on this project,” said Ashley Marion of TD Bank. “We are happy to be able to provide this opportunity to people in this area who need it.”
Blaze thanked Dorfman, Grbelja, Marion, Township Administrator Maria Dellasalla, AnneMarie Uebbing and Elizabeth Williams of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Jim Lordi of the New Jersey Department of Consumer Affairs, and AHA board member Ray Smith for participating in the groundbreaking.
The AHA credited the development of the project to a collaboration among the alliance, Dorfman, the Township Committee, Committeeman Bob Kinsey, TD Bank and the TD Bank Foundation.
Construction is anticipated to be completed by February 2019, according the AHA, and a random selection of applicants will be made from individuals who have pre-qualified. Applications for the Millstone House Apartments are available at the Millstone Township municipal building, 470 Stagecoach Road. For more information, visit www.housingall.org